A look back at the 2004 draft

Back in the summer of 2004 (mid-August to be precise), I started a thread asking posters to play GM and try to outdo Trevor Timmins and Bob Gainey. That was before we even saw any player from that draft step on the ice. Every single year we hear the same tune from different posters about how the management screwed up picking this guy over this guy so it was a chance to put your money where your mouth is!

1.Mike Green
Rocketed up the charts last season and is staying at those lofty heights for a long while probably. A #1 defenseman.

2.Andrej Meszaros
He established himself as a top 4 defenseman very early in his career playing in what was a very strong D-corp in Ottawa at the time. He is having a tougher year in Tampa this season as the go-to guy. He would probably be a welcomed addition on our blueline and would most likely look better than in Tampa in a lesser role alongside Roman Hamrlik.

3a.Kyle Chipchura
I really liked what I saw from Chipchura in 2007-2008. I thought he would take over a regular spot on the team this year but he was outplayed by Maxim Lapierre. I still think he can find a way into our lineup in the near future and he has interesting tools that could help us down the road.

3b.Lauri Korpikoski
I remember a lot of buzz around the draft about the Finnish trio of Tukonen, Korpikoski and Nokelainen. At the WJC that year, Finland had a very hard working and gritty group and a lot of experts were saying that their game was starting more and more to look like the north-american style of play. Korpikoski has paid his dues in the AHL and from the looks of it has earned a regular spot with the Rangers. I haven't followed the Rangers enough to know if Korpikoski is ahead of Chipchura right now.

4.Johannes Salmonsson
Has yet to come over from Sweden. I've never seen him play so I won't comment.

Conclusion
Although 'franchise player' suggested three players which looks as if he was still undecided he had the decency to find the real late 1st round gem in Mike Green. He wins this round.

Three of these players stayed to play in their home country : Sprunger, Hedman and our own Emelin. Those players are pretty tough to judge.

Aki Seitsonen has come over and has had pretty limited success both in the ECHL and AHL.

Jeff Glass had 1 good season in the AHL and has flotted with the .890 save percentage otherwise.

Evan Mcgrath is still progressing in the AHL.

Brett Carson seems to have progressed well in the AHL and earned a 5 game callup in Carolina.

Claython Barthel is playing in Germany.

Dustin Boyd is now a regular with the Calgary Flames.

Conclusion
It's a pretty tough round to judge. Some players are still playing in Europe and some have paid their dues in the AHL but have yet to establish themselves in the NHL. Right now the only NHLer is Dustin Boyd so the round goes to 'Blind Gardien'.

Doing this exercise shows how much hit-and-miss the draft can be. When people claim : 'How come we passed on XXX and picked YYY? We are the worst!' but no team can pick the best player in each round. I would say it's impossible to pull off.

I would say that Timmins and Cie did a very good job with the 2004 draft. Chipchura, Grabovski, Streit and Stewart all have a future in the NHL. Streit was an absolute steal and I remember a lot of posters complaining about this pick (including myself) : why pick an overrager who had a chance years ago and failed? Well, here's why!!

Out of the 8 posters that did the exercise, I would say that only Franchise Player pulled off a better job picking Green, Grabovski, Stewart and Hansen with McGrath, Laliberté and Hunter still having a shot to play in the Bigs. Although if he picked Chipchura or Meszaros over Green the draft would be pretty even with Timmins.

Thank you all for participating back in 2004, maybe we should repeat this year!

thanks for the laugh. I remember hating the Streit pick boy was I wrong. But I've since learned to trust in Timmins, so while I don't always agree with his picks, I give him the benefit of doubt cause what a track record he's putting together.

If you want to see what picks I have for the Habs each year, check out the draft articles I do,

thanks for the laugh. I remember hating the Streit pick boy was I wrong.

I remember having a discussion with you about that, not long after the draft, and in your defence your only objection with the pick was why not sign him as a free agent, and use the pick on another player. I don't recall you having any objections to Streit as a player.

__________________Hey look, it's Duffman; the guy in a costume that creates awareness of Duff!

I remember having a discussion with you about that, not long after the draft, and in your defence your only objection with the pick was why not sign him as a free agent, and use the pick on another player. I don't recall you having any objections to Streit as a player.

Good memory, I didn't know who Streit was but I thought it was a waste of a pick, granted it was a late one.

fredez, I wouldn't mind you doing this every draft (if you haven't and are just waiting until next year to look back on 2005), it's good to look back at what people thought, without the revisionist history.

From what I remember from the 2004 draft, going into it there were 4 players I wanted to see the Habs draft: Korpikoski, Meszaros, some guy (maybe Schremp?), and Green (in that order). I didn't think Chipchura would be around when we drafted.

Green was an intriguing player, I remember reading in THN's draft preview that if he had played for a better team he would be higher up in the rankings (very intriguing), but I can't say I was personally raring for the Habs to draft him; Korpikoski was my guy.

fredez, I wouldn't mind you doing this every draft (if you haven't and are just waiting until next year to look back on 2005), it's good to look back at what people thought, without the revisionist history.

2004 is the only year I did it but I fully intend to repeat the experience this year!

Surprised more people weren't high on Wolski. I remember liking him quite a bit. However he had gotten arrested a few days before the draft and that may have scared a few people off?

I also remember quite a few people happy with the Chipchura pick. Big centerman with a ton of character and intangibles who had fallen because of an injury and could potentially turn out to be a gem; what's not to like? Especially at the time when this team was known as small and soft, a guy like Chipchura seemed to potentially fill a need in the minds of many fans. Suprised so many people liked Meszaros because I really don't remember that many people hyping him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fredez

2004 is the only year I did it but I fully intend to repeat the experience this year!

Probably a very good thing you didn't do it for 2005 because a lot of people (myself included) would end up looking very, very silly. The collective outrage over passing up on Gilbert Brule and picking a goalie is, in retrospect, incredibly, incredibly hilarious.

BTW- Congrats to you for the Hansen pick at 200+ and to BG for Dustin Boyd.

I'd be really interested in doing something like that this year and almost suggested doing it last year but never got around to it.

Surprised more people weren't high on Wolski. I remember liking him quite a bit. However he had gotten arrested a few days before the draft and that may have scared a few people off?

I also remember quite a few people happy with the Chipchura pick. Big centerman with a ton of character and intangibles who had fallen because of an injury and could potentially turn out to be a gem; what's not to like? Especially at the time when this team was known as small and soft, a guy like Chipchura seemed to potentially fill a need in the minds of many fans. Suprised so many people liked Meszaros because I really don't remember that many people hyping him.

Probably a very good thing you didn't do it for 2005 because a lot of people (myself included) would end up looking very, very silly. The collective outrage over passing up on Gilbert Brule and picking a goalie is, in retrospect, incredibly, incredibly hilarious.

BTW- Congrats to you for the Hansen pick at 200+ and to BG for Dustin Boyd.

I'd be really interested in doing something like that this year and almost suggested doing it last year but never got around to it.

Meszaros got his hype just after the World championship. He was a 18 yrs old playing top minutes for the the Slovakian national team which was quite a achievement for a teenager.

I hated the chipchura pick from the start but had hope he could fill the 3rd or 4th line duty down the road. My main concern about him was foot speed. He was a character guy but if you want to make it as a grinder/checker in the NHL you have to got the speed to keep up with the other offensive threat.

Green really interested me after the prospect game where he was IMO the best player from his team I really liked his mobility and the fact that his shots were always on target. He was kinda small 6'1 (now 6'2) but he was kinda fiesty. Even tough I was high on him I didnt expected him to be the almost re-incarnation of Paul Coffey/Brian Leetch.

I also remember quite a few people happy with the Chipchura pick. Big centerman with a ton of character and intangibles who had fallen because of an injury and could potentially turn out to be a gem; what's not to like? Especially at the time when this team was known as small and soft, a guy like Chipchura seemed to potentially fill a need in the minds of many fans. Suprised so many people liked Meszaros because I really don't remember that many people hyping him.